Following that logic, all 3 of Nakatani's Éclair shorts aren't "Yuri". In all of them it's clear it's the beginning to a romantic relationship that is being portrayed and what situations led to that. Maybe you should take your friendship goggles off or learn the actual definition of 'shoujo ai' like the embarrassing plebians you are.

'Actual definition'? Like pedophilia? The love of young girls? A word similar to lolicon?

The actual Japanese definition of shoujo ai would be young girls love - like loli - if I remember! But as for needing a yuri tag - I think it is fine as is though borderline. I agree it seems to be the start of something that will lead to yuri- especially given the girl says 'we can't take it any further till we get to know each other better!'

If they were gonna be just friends there wouldn't be a need to even do it again let alone go further - she said it exactly how you would word it for sexual intimacy between a couple.

On another note - what a lovely setting - It's amazing given how common cat girls are - but I don't think I have EVER seen a setting of cat / animal girls living fully integrated in the real world like this. Animal ear girls are always either 1 offs or just a couple who show up in the real world, or as races in a fantasy world.

Another setting you see a few times, like nekopara, is them as a race in the real world - but they are treated as 'pets' and inferior / slave like almost - even if the owner in said anime loves & cares for them super well it is a bit jarring.

Can anyone think of any other manga/anime set in the real world, with animal ear people live seamlessly among the humans as equals and in equal numbers, like it has always been that way? I can't.

I love to have seen more in this setting!

last edited at Mar 30, 2018 10:12AM

This definitional discussion is hilarious. Putting aside for a moment the Dynasty decision to not use “shoujo ai” at all, the usual point of distinction between “yuri” and “shoujo ai” is the degree of explicit romance/sexuality.

So, exactly how romantic/sexual is fondling a human being’s animal ears in real life? A tough question to answer, since in real life human beings don’t have animal ears.

Then the question becomes: how romantic/sexual would fondling a human being’s animal ears be if human beings did in fact have animal ears?

Answers to that question would seem to be to both highly subjective and context-dependent. In this context, “I feel compelled to fondle your animal ears while blushing furiously,” in my subjective opinion, seems pretty darned romantic/sexual.

And let’s not even get into the whole tail issue.

Blastaar posted:

This definitional discussion is hilarious. Putting aside for a moment the Dynasty decision to not use “shoujo ai” at all, the usual point of distinction between “yuri” and “shoujo ai” is the degree of explicit romance/sexuality.

Dynasty doesn't use it because this term doesn't exist in japan. Or to be more precise, it does exist, but mean pedophilia. In Japan Yuri or Girl's Love encompass all of possible romance stories between girls. W/e it has sex or not. They got 18+ marking for that. It was Americans that needed a clear distinctive term to separate those too, because of course they would need it, so they came up with that term randomly adding 2 jps words thinking they would mean "girl's love" without realizing they don't and in fact that exact phrase already has a meaning in jps.

Honestly, if someone mentions it unironically again, I think I'm going to get brain aneurysm.

'Actual definition'? Like pedophilia? The love of young girls?

Yeah. Dumbfounded it's 2018 and we're still going on this.

Dynasty doesn't use it because this term doesn't exist in japan. Or to be more precise, it does exist, but mean pedophilia. In Japan Yuri or Girl's Love encompass all of possible romance stories between girls. W/e it has sex or not. They got 18+ marking for that. It was Americans that needed a clear distinctive term to separate those too, because of course they would need it, so they came up with that term randomly adding 2 jps words thinking they would mean "girl's love" without realizing they don't and in fact that exact phrase already has a meaning in jps.

Thank you so very much.

Now can we discuss how gay all this ear rubbing was and stop pretending it isn't gay?

Dynasty doesn't use it because this term doesn't exist in japan. Or to be more precise, it does exist, but mean pedophilia. In Japan Yuri or Girl's Love encompass all of possible romance stories between girls. W/e it has sex or not. They got 18+ marking for that. It was Americans that needed a clear distinctive term to separate those too, because of course they would need it, so they came up with that term randomly adding 2 jps words thinking they would mean "girl's love" without realizing they don't and in fact that exact phrase already has a meaning in jps.

Honestly, if someone mentions it unironically again, I think I'm going to get brain aneurysm.

Thanks. Stop using shoujo-ai holy shit
And this is clearly yuri, what, were you expecting her to ask her to date when they barely know each other?

I’m well aware of why Dynasty doesn’t use the term, and I suppose I should have said “the very good and compelling reasons Dynasty doesn’t, etc.” to make that clear.

The hilarious part to me is the possibility of the question “is same-sex animal-ear fondling between humans ‘yuri,’ ‘subtext,’ or just ‘friendship’?” arising in the first place and my delight in imagining the possible metrics that might be used to decide the answer.

skulll posted:

Stop using shoujo-ai holy shit

Sadly that is unlikely to happen as the biggest sites like MAL and most of english speaking (and probably rest as well) anime/manga community uses it and doesn't have any intention of changing it. At this point it is just too integrated to easily remove it.

Blastaar posted:

I’m well aware of why Dynasty doesn’t use the term, and I suppose I should have said “the very good and compelling reasons Dynasty doesn’t, etc.” to make that clear.

My bad then. You are restoring my hope in humanity.

last edited at Mar 30, 2018 11:04AM

And as an addendum: the moment when the fox-ear girl insists that human ears are not boring is one of the most inventively sexy scenes I’ve encountered lately.

Maybe that will even become a yuri trope to rank right up there with the classic moment when a couple of young people realize that in fact two girls can do it.

But yeah, I'm with Mizusi. The whole mutual ear-rubbing thing is gay as hell.

In fact, her allowing the human girl to do it is a pretty intimate invitation in the first place. And just wait until they get to tail/tailbone fondling, ho ho!

And just wait until they get to tail/tailbone fondling, ho ho!

That just opens up a whole new can of . . . um, I’m not entirely sure where to go with that metaphor in this context.

But yes, these two may have decided to take it a bit slow, but obviously the eventual plan is to jump each others’ . . . ears?

Blastaar posted:

But yes, these two may have decided to take it a bit slow, but obviously the eventual plan is to jump each others’ . . . ears?

They will end up eating each other.

last edited at Mar 30, 2018 11:55AM

I know I'm just playing with ideas here, but what about the fact they are not even the same species?

Humans are omnivorous. Foxes are carnivorous. Which one will eat best?

last edited at Mar 30, 2018 2:03PM

Nya-chan posted:

Well, I don't see the yuri. They want to be friend. And one of them is blushing. Maybe subtext?

I know this is Nakatani Nio, but the yuri here is just wishful thinking.

If this is yuri, I want the tag for Stretch also!

Well, you wouldn't just let anyone touch you right? and the ending makes it seem like they'll be escalating

I know I'm just playing with ideas here, but what about the fact they are not even the same species?

Humans are omnivorous. Foxes are carnivorous. Which one is will eat best?

Foxes are omnivores actually, just with a strong pouncing carnivore bent. They eat lots of berries and suchlike in the wild.

Anyway that was some erotically charged social grooming...

and here I thought hand holding was bad

Serenata posted:

Nya-chan posted:

Well, I don't see the yuri. They want to be friend. And one of them is blushing. Maybe subtext?

I know this is Nakatani Nio, but the yuri here is just wishful thinking.

If this is yuri, I want the tag for Stretch also!

Well, you wouldn't just let anyone touch you right? and the ending makes it seem like they'll be escalating

Well, I'd let my friends touch me.

wut!? really!? but I'm just getting to the interesting part and it already ended

I need more of this

This “sex or friends?” debate is a version of a long-standing philosophical question:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NfE0O-u8eL0

last edited at Mar 30, 2018 2:21PM

Nya-chan posted:

Well, I don't see the yuri. They want to be friend. And one of them is blushing. Maybe subtext?

I know this is Nakatani Nio, but the yuri here is just wishful thinking.

If this is yuri, I want the tag for Stretch also!

Well, you wouldn't just let anyone touch you right? and the ending makes it seem like they'll be escalating

If my friend rub my ears like that and does not says "nohomo" afterward, I will rape the shjt out of him, nohomo of course.

Nya-chan posted:

Serenata posted:

Nya-chan posted:

Well, I don't see the yuri. They want to be friend. And one of them is blushing. Maybe subtext?

I know this is Nakatani Nio, but the yuri here is just wishful thinking.

If this is yuri, I want the tag for Stretch also!

Well, you wouldn't just let anyone touch you right? and the ending makes it seem like they'll be escalating

Well, I'd let my friends touch me.

I guess I can't use myself as example because even hugs feels awkward to me... I know is normal to kiss in the cheeks, a hug or even resting in someone's lap if you're like long time friends, but if one of them says "you have really cute hands, can I caress them?" I wouldn't be able to keep my cool.

Following that logic, all 3 of Nakatani's Éclair shorts aren't "Yuri". In all of them it's clear it's the beginning to a romantic relationship that is being portrayed and what situations led to that. Maybe you should take your friendship goggles off or learn the actual definition of 'shoujo ai' like the embarrassing plebians you are.

Wow harsh.

As I said, I think that evaluating the status of:

“I find [part of your body] incredibly attractive and would really like to touch [it/them] for a while”

requests to be innately so subjective and context-dependent as to be (almost) beyond argument, so the best one person can do is to state their opinion knowing that convincing others who think differently will be extremely difficult if not impossible.

For the record, in regard to this story, at this point I find myself somewhere on a spectrum including:

• inevitably leading to sex
• basically a form of non-penetrative sex
• even more lewd than sex

But that’s just me.

And then, they both got boyfriends.

And then, they both got boyfriends.

I’m sensing trauma in your reading past, Nya-chan.

If we’re making up imaginary endings, why not look on the bright side: they ran away to the woods together and were killed by hunters.